


Baby, Look What You've Done To Me

by tomlintops



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Abduction, Alternate Universe, Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Government Experimentation, Kidnapping, M/M, Science Experiments, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-13
Updated: 2015-02-13
Packaged: 2018-03-12 04:50:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3344267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tomlintops/pseuds/tomlintops
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>au: harry shows up to louis' house one day completely naked.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Baby, Look What You've Done To Me

Louis Tomlinson wakes up to an annoying ringing sound blaring in his ear. He opens his eyes and immediately closes them to try to get away from the blinding light coming through the curtains hanging from his window. 

He blindly reaches out in front of him in search of the source of the ringing sound. He finds it and, with one eye open, presses the green answer button. 

"Hello?" He croaks groggily, then clears his throat as soon as he hears how disgusting his voice sounds this morning.

" _Can you come let me in?_ " The voice on the other side of the phone responds. 

"Huh?" Louis asks, confused, his mind not fully awake yet. 

" _Come let me in, dork. You said you'd help me study for my Chem final, remember?_ " The voice reminds him, amusement clear in their voice. 

Louis furrows his eyebrows and pulls the phone away from his ear to look at the caller I.D.

_Zayn Malik._

He brings the phone back to his ear as he slowly sits up in his bed. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll be right there." He says, now that he knows who exactly is speaking to him from the other side of the phone, and hangs up. Louis swings his feet around to the side of the bed and stands up, stretching as he did and listening in satisfaction as all of his bones pop. He grabs a pair of sweatpants, clean or dirty, he doesn't know, and slips them on and makes his way to the front door to let his best friend in.

Louis and Zayn have been friends since the first grade, when Louis befriended him when he saw Zayn being picked on by some boys. Zayn has always been the one person that he goes to for everything; Louis can trust him with his whole life. And he's pretty sure that Zayn feels the same way about him. 

Louis makes his way to the front door and opens it to let Zayn inside. As soon as it opens, he pushes inside past Louis. Louis closes the front door and sighs tiredly, running a hand through his hair. He follows after Zayn into the living room to find him setting out all of his coursework and textbooks on the coffee table. 

He looks up as Louis walks in, "did you forget about me?" He asks in a teasing tone. 

Louis chuckles lightly, "no, I got in really late last night, so I was kind of out of it this morning. Sorry." He apologizes.

Zayn waves him off, "no need to apologize, I know you could never forget about me." He says with a smug grin. 

"Yeah, it'd be kind of hard to." Louis smiles as he sits down on the couch next to Zayn, and picks up a paper on the table in front of them. "What are we working with here?"

"Molecular Formulas. I understand literally  _everything,_ but these." Zayn states, frustrated.

"Alright, alright. Calm down, feisty, that's what I'm here for." Louis laughs.

Zayn gives him a grateful smile, happy that he understands Chemistry like it's a second nature. The two best friends study on that same couch for about two hours until there is a knock on the door.

Louis sighs and stands up from the couch, walking towards the front door. He opens the door, and is met by a boy the age of eighteen, maybe younger, standing in front of him. His hair is matted to his forehead from either sweat, or the rain pouring from the sky, Louis doesn't know. His body is covered in dirt from head to toe, his arms wrapped tightly around his torso as if he's trying to shield himself from something. And, from what Louis can see, the boy is covered in scars. 

But, that's not what Louis is paying attention to. No, he's paying attention to the fact that the boy who is standing in front of him is stark naked.

Not knowing what to do about the mysterious boy standing in his doorway, he says the first thing that comes to his mind. 

"You can come in," Louis says hesitantly, opening the door wider and stepping off to the side so the boy can come inside.

The boy glances up and then looks back down quickly and nods slightly. He takes slow steps inside, tracking mud and water inside with him. Louis makes a mental note to clean that up later. But, for now, he closes the door and followed the mysterious boy into the living room, where Zayn is giving him a suspicious look.

Zayn looks at his best friend as he enters the room, and gives him a look as if to say,  _what the hell is this?_ Louis just simply shrugs and rushes to the couch to grab a blanket, to at least give the boy _some_ of his dignity back. He goes back to stand in front of him and gives him the blanket to wrap around himself.

"What's your name?" Louis asks. 

The boys head snaps up from where he was staring at the ground, and looks at Louis with wide eyes. He points at himself, as if to ask if the question is directed at him.

Louis nods, confusion probably written all over his face.

"H-harry. My name is Harry." The boy,  _Harry,_ says slowly. Almost as if he's trying to assure himself that what he's saying is correct. 

Louis' eyebrows furrow and he nods slowly, "okay. I'm Louis, and this is my friend, Zayn." He says, gesturing to the boy next to him. Zayn gives Harry a small wave, bewilderment still covering his face.

When Harry doesn't respond, Louis continues on questioning him. "How old are you?" 

"Nineteen. I think."

Zayn pulls on Louis' arm from his place down on the couch, but Louis ignores him. "Okay, do you have anywhere to go?"

Harry looks down at the ground again and simply shakes his head. 

Louis nods and approaches Harry, places his hand at the small of his back and pushing him towards the hallway. "I have a shower that you can use, and some clothes that you can wear. And, when you're finished, we can try to get some of those cuts cleaned up. We don't want them getting infected. Okay?" Louis explains in a soft tone. 

Harry slowly turns his head and looks at Louis with wide bright green eyes and nods shakily. 

Louis walks him to the bathroom and sits him down on the toilet while he goes to his room to get some clothes that he assumes with fit Harry. He comes back and sits the clothes on the counter and starts the shower, waiting until it's a good temperature and turns around to face the boy.

"You can use my shampoo if you'd like, I don't really care. I'm not sure if these clothes will fit you, seeing as you're a lot taller than me. But it's better than nothing right?" 

When Harry doesn't respond, Louis begins to awkwardly back out of the bathroom, "okay, I'll just leave you to it." 

As he is turning around to walk out of the bathroom, a voice sounds from behind him. Louis turns back around to face Harry. "I'm sorry, what was that?" He asks, not having heard what the boy said the first time. 

"I can't shower." Harry speaks quietly. 

Louis tilts his head in confusion. "Well, why not?" He asks.

Harry shrugs, "I just can't."

Louis sighs, getting slightly frustrated, "you're covered in dirt, how are you supposed to get clean?" 

Harry doesn't respond, once again, just continues to stare at the ground, his arms wrapped around his torso, just like they had been when he first showed up at Louis' door. Louis shakes his head and stomps out into the hallway and opens up the closet full of bath towels and washcloths. He grabs one of each and walks back into the bathroom. He walks past Harry sitting on the toilet and wets the washcloth and squirts some liquid soap onto it. He turns off the water and spins around to face Harry, bringing up the wet cloth to his shoulder. 

"Just do not go over the cuts." Harry says quietly. 

"They'll get infected, Harry." 

"No, they will not. I am a fast healer." Harry insists. 

Louis figures it's not something worth arguing about, so he leaves the boy be. He tells Harry to remove the blanket from around his body and starts scrubbing his body with the soapy washcloth, being careful not to go over his cuts. 

"Can you move your arms?" Louis asks.

Harry slowly removes his arms from around his torso, and places them at his sides, revealing the rest of his body to Louis. He has scratches placed sporadically all over his torso, all of them still fresh. Louis looks up and searches Harry's face for any type of sadness in his eyes, any type of hint for what had happened to him, but all he finds is fear. The same fear that he had in his eyes when he first showed up. When Louis is finished washing and rinsing off the soap, he stands up and throws the wet cloth to the corner of the room. He grabs a towel from under the sink and wraps it around Harry's body, replacing the blanket. 

"I'll leave you to get dressed." Louis says, and closes the bathroom door and walks out to the living room. 

As he's walking in, Zayn jumps up from his spot on the couch and runs over to Louis. "Are you kidding me, Lou?" He exclaims. "A naked guy shows up at your door, and you let him into your house and give him your clothes? And, might I add, the kid barely knew his own name, let alone how old he was. This kid can be some  _psycho_ and you just welcomed him into your home with open arms!" 

"Don't you see that he needs help? He showed up at my doorstep covered in dirt and scars, I couldn't just tell him to leave. All I'm doing is giving him some clothes and food, and sending him on his way. I know what I'm doing, Zayn." Louis says sternly.

Zayn doesn't respond, just turns around and starts gathering his coursework and textbooks off of the coffee table. 

Louis sighs, "where are you going?"

"Home," he states sharply, "because I don't want to be here when this all goes to shit." And, with that, he walks out of the front door, leaving Louis to deal with the confused boy in the bathroom.

\--

Sitting on the couch, head in his hands, Louis thinks about the pros and cons of letting this boy into his house. Was it really a good idea? What if Zayn is right, what if he really is a psycho? But, the poor kid was stood on his doorstep covered from head to toe in dirt. Just like Louis said, he couldn't have just told Harry to leave. Giving the kid clothes and food isn't that big of a deal; it's just the ethical thing to do. But, like Zayn said, Harry didn't even knew his own name and age. So, what can possibly be wrong with him?

"Louis?"

Louis is brought out of his thoughts by someone calling his name. He looks up to see Harry standing in the entryway of the living room, clad in Louis' clothes. 

"What's up?" Louis responds.

Harry shuffles his feet on the ground and shrugs. "You told me to meet you in here when I was finished." He pauses and then looks around, noticing that something is missing. "Where is your friend?"

"Zayn?" Louis confirms. Harry nods. "He had to get back home and study for exams." He lies. "Erm, c'mere, sit down," he suggests and scoots over, patting the spot next to him. 

Harry bounds over to the couch and plops down next to Louis.

"I just have a couple of questions to ask? Is that alright?" Louis asks, and when Harry nods, he starts with the interrogation. "So, you're nineteen?" He starts. Harry nods confidently, "you didn't seem so sure about that earlier." Louis accuses.

"I am nineteen," Harry says confidently. "What is your age?" He asks, turning the tables.

"Twenty-three. But, this isn't about me. I need to find out some things about you, so I can figure out what I'm going to do with you."

Harry blinks at him. "What do you mean by that?" He asks, sounding almost panicked.

"I need to figure out if you're stable enough to go back home by yourself." Louis starts, before he stands up from the couch and wanders down the hall and into his bedroom to retrieve his phone. He comes back into the living room with his head down and continues talking. "Do you have anyone you can call to come pick you up?" Louis asks. When he doesn't get a response, he looks up from his phone to find Harry sitting with his head in his hands. Realization dawns on Louis as he continues to stare at the boy's distressed state. 

"You don't have anywhere to go, do you?" Louis asks softly. Harry shakes his head. Louis sighs deeply, running a hand through his feathery brown hair. "No family or friends? Nothing?" Harry shakes his head again.

Louis sits down on the couch, taking his place next to Harry again. He thinks about what he is going to do about this boy who just happened to unexpectedly show up at his door. He claims he has no family and no friends that he can contact to stay with. Living with Louis simply isn't an option. He lives in a one bedroom apartment by himself, so Harry would have nowhere to sleep. He has a good paying job, but not enough to pay to take care of two people. And, overall, Louis is just too busy; from college to work, he's barely home as it is, he isn't going to change his schedule for a person he only knows the name and age of.

But, then again, what is he supposed to do? He can't just kick Harry out, leaving him with absolutely nowhere to go; Louis isn't that cruel. So, if Harry needs somewhere to go temporarily, then Louis is going to be the person to give it to him. He'll work it out.

"You can stay with me," Louis finally speaks up.

Harry lifts his head from where it's still resting in his hands, and looks at Louis in surprise. "What?"

"I said," Louis sighs, "you can stay with me. Only until you find somewhere else to stay. I'm not going to leave you out on the streets, kid."

"Thank you so much, sir." Harry formally states.

Louis laughs in surprise. "Don't- don't call me sir. Please. Don't make me feel older than I am." 

"You're twenty three? You are not old." Harry disagrees.

"Yeah? Thanks, kid." Louis stands up and walks to the kitchen. "You hungry?" He calls out behind him.

"No, thank you." He hears Harry call back.

Louis furrows his eyebrows and leans back out the doorway of the kitchen, into the living room. "Why are you so formal? I mean, you have manners, cool. But- I don't know. Where did you grow up?" He asks curiously.

"I- I don't know." Harry states truthfully.

"You don't-? Wait, how do you not..." Louis trails off, confused.

Sensing Louis' confusion and suspicion, Harry comes up with a quick explanation for his answer. "Growing up, both of my parents were in the military, so we moved around a lot. I did not really stay in one place for very long; so that is what I meant when I said I did not know. I apologize, that must have been confusing."

Not wanting to point out that Harry is speaking formally, once again, Louis just nods and proceeds into the kitchen to make himself an early dinner. He thinks about what sounds good, and eventually decides on spaghetti. He gathers up all of the ingredients and starts to make his food.

Once the spaghetti is done, Louis fills a bowl to the rim and walks back out to the living room to eat on the couch. Harry is still sitting in the same position he was when Louis left him to make the food, but Louis decides not to say anything to him. They sit in awkward silence, Louis not having a television for them to watch, the only sound in the room being his chewing and the sloshing of the spaghetti.

Harry is the first one to initiate conversation. "What is that?" He asks curiously.

Louis looks at him in disbelief and swallows the food that is in his mouth before speaking. "You've never eaten spaghetti?"

"No," Harry shakes his head, "is it good?"

"Good? Spaghetti is only the  _best_ food on the planet. Some people beg to differ, but I think I make some pretty badass spaghetti. You sure you don't want any? There's plenty more left in the kitchen."

Harry waves him off, "no, I am okay. But, thank you."

"Suit yourself, mate." Louis chuckles, and continues to stuff his mouth with the saucy noodles.

The two boys continue to sit on the couch in silence. Louis eating, and Harry simply sitting and staring at the wall. Once Louis is finished with his food, only after having two more servings, he goes into the kitchen and places his bowl into the sink, making a mental note to wash it the next day. He comes back into the living room, opening his mouth to speak, but holds his hand up and walks down the hallway. He stops at the hallway closet where he stores his coats and shoes, and grabs a spare blanket from the top shelf. He wanders off into the bedroom and finds a pillow that he is sure he doesn't need, and goes to his dresser and finds some pajamas that are slightly too big for him and then wanders back out into the living room. He places the items on the arm of the couch next to where Harry is sitting.

"What are these?"

"Erm... Some clothes to sleep in, and a blanket so you don't get cold."

Harry just makes a face as if he wants to say something, but decides against it and nods and gives Louis a smile. Louis smiles back at him and stands up. 

"Okay, well- I'm going to turn in early; I have to work early in the morning. I'll see you in the morning, kid."

And, with that he starts his walk down the hall to his room, but not before hearing Harry call out to him. 

"Goodnight, Louis. I hope you sleep well."

Louis makes a move to turn around, but decides against it. Just makes a face at himself and continues on to his room, stripping his clothes and getting in bed. He spends the rest of his night scrolling through his twitter timeline until he falls asleep.

\--

Louis' alarm blares in his ears, a horrible reminder that he has to work today. It's not that he doesn't like his job, it's just the people that he has to work with. He pictures his boss to have a shelf in his home reserved just for his  _Asshole of The Year_ awards, and he deserves every single one of them. His co-workers are complete know-it-all's, always thinking that they have a higher power over Louis and that they have a right to tell him what to do and how to do it. It's a fucking medical clinic, Louis thinks that he's pretty capable of sitting at a desk for eight hours a day and filling out paperwork and sending out orders on his own. But, it pays for this apartment and his schooling, so it's worth it. Besides, this year is his last year at school, and after he graduates he'll finally get to become a drama teacher like he's always wanted. 

Louis rubs at his eyes and yawns loudly before sitting up and getting out of bed. He trudges down the hallway in just his boxers, set on going to the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea. As he passes through the living room, something moves out of the corner of his eye and he gasps loudly when he sees someone sitting on his couch. And then he remembers,  _oh yeah, I let a boy I barely know sleep on my couch last night._

"Jesus Christ, Harry." Louis breathes out, bringing a hand up to his chest. "What are you already doing awake?" 

"I heard your alarm." He says simply.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up. Go back to sleep." 

"It is okay. I do not need to sleep." 

"Okay," Louis shrugs, "I'm just going to make myself a cuppa. You want one?" He asks, continuing his trek to the kitchen. 

"No, thank you." Harry shakes his head. 

Louis fills up a pot of water and sets it on the stove for it to heat up. As he's waiting, he realizes that he's still only in his boxers and he runs up to his room to quickly pull on a pair of sweatpants. He's pretty sure he's been putting on the same pair of pants everyday, even though they probably haven't been washed for over a week. He should really do some laundry. Louis grabs his phone and runs back to the kitchen to finish making his tea. He slowly drinks it as he looks through his Instagram feed - which he doesn't know why he does. All it does is remind him of how single he is, and how he's probably going to die alone in this apartment, what with all of his friends posting pictures of them and their significant others. Maybe Louis should get a dog. 

He finishes his tea just in time for him to start getting ready and hops in the shower, officially beginning his work day. He styles his hair into his normal everyday quiff after he dries his body off and dresses in his work attire. His work doesn't require him to wear a uniform, you can wear just about everything as long as it's not sweatpants - which just so happens to be Louis' favorite article of clothing. But, oh well. 

Louis runs back to the kitchen for the last time to grab his cell phone off the counter and tucks it into his pants pocket. He grabs his keys and wallet as well and goes to front door to put his shoes and coat on. 

"I'm headed off to work," Louis informs Harry, who is still seated on the couch. "I apologize for not having a tv, but I honestly don't spend enough time here to have one. But, my laptop is in my bedroom, it doesn't have a password on it, so you can just watch Netflix on there. Erm," Louis taps his chin, trying to think of anything else he needs to say. He goes to the kitchen and finds a piece of paper and a pen, writing his phone number down on it and setting it next to the landline. He makes his way back to the front door and opens it. "I left my cell number on the kitchen counter, just in case something happens. You're nineteen, I'm pretty sure you've stayed home alone plenty of times. I'll see you around six tonight." He gives a small wave to Harry, the boy reciprocating the movement, and walks out of the apartment.

\--

Harry is sitting on the couch, looking at the wall in front of him. The same walls that he's been staring at for the last ten hours. He was lying when he said that Louis' alarm woke him up, he actually hasn't been to sleep at all. Whether it's the way he is programmed, Harry doesn't know. All he knows is that for the past eight months, all he's done at night is stare at the ceiling, doing absolutely nothing, until someone comes into his room to get him up and ready for the days routine. He doesn't get tired, ever. But, that's probably the way it's supposed to be, so they can use him at anytime of the day that they want. 

But, not anymore. Harry has Louis now, right? Louis said that he can stay here if he has nowhere else to go. And Harry sure as hell isn't going back. Never again. Not after what he had to go through. 

Harry takes this time alone to explore the apartment a little. He walks into the kitchen and takes in the several contraptions - some of them have buttons on them and some of them have knobs on them, but Harry doesn't understand what any of it means. He's never been in a kitchen before, he's never had a reason to. He doesn't eat. He exits the kitchen and makes his way down the hallway to the bedroom. A queen sized bed sits in the middle of the room, a puffy white comforter spread over it, matched with black pillows and throw blankets. Two nightstands are placed on either side of the bed and a wardrobe is sat in the corner, a desk pushed up against the wall opposite of the bed. 

All of the rooms that Harry has been in aren't like this. They're not decorated, they're not furnished. Just a bed, that's it.  _They_ didn't care if you had all of the finer things in life, as long as you did what you were made to do, that's all that mattered to them. 

The laptop that Louis must've been talking about is sitting in the middle of his unmade bed. Harry sits down and it turns on as soon as he opens it. Then all of a sudden, his vision goes white, his ears start ringing and his head starts pounding - equivalent to the feeling of a thousand and one rocks falling on his head all at once. Harry shuts the laptop quickly and scrambles off the bed, falling to his knees and holding his head in his hands. 

When the pain finally subsides, he opens his eyes and everything is back to normal. 

_What the hell was that?_ Harry thinks. That's never happened to him before. It must've been a reaction to the lighting of the screen or something. He isn't sure. 

Harry decides to just leave the laptop alone, instead opting for just looking around Louis' room for a bit. He doesn't think that Louis would mind if he looked through his things. He's curious. Can you blame him? He goes over to the desk and sits down in the spinny chair, opening the drawer. There's a bunch of papers carelessly thrown on top of each other, everything from paperclips to candy wrappers tossed inside, almost as if Louis is using this desk as a storage for anything that doesn't have a specific place in his room, rather than an actual desk. Harry pushes the papers to the side, finding nothing of interest. At the bottom of the drawer, underneath all of the trash, is a book. Harry picks it up, opening it up to the first page, and sees that it's not the type of book that you read. Instead, it has writing in it. 

**_November 12, 2009, 5:01 P.M_ **

_Mum says that doing this will help, though I'm not exactly sure how right she is. I thought I would just give it a shot anyways. I don't really know how to feel right now it's like my whole body has gone numb to everything. I haven't eaten in almost three days and I know that I probably should but just the thought of food makes me want to vomit._

_I finally got tired of my phone ringing every five minutes so I decided that smashing it with a hammer was the best way to go. It probably wasn't but at the moment I honestly couldn't care less. I'm tired of getting pity from everyone I'm tired of hearing the same "i'm so sorry about what happened if you need anything just tell me" shit. I don't_ want  _anything from anyone I just want to be left alone. I've had nothing but people around me for the past two weeks and all I want is to just have time to myself I don't really think that's too much to ask._

_I've never dealt with this kind of pain before I don't really know what to do with myself right now. I just wish I could fall asleep and never wake up again so I won't have to deal with this anymore._

Harry furrows his eyebrows in confusion and skips the next couple of pages. 

**_August 29, 2010, 3:49 A.M_ **

_It's been four months and I still can't stop crying. I thought it was supposed to get better but it just seems like that with everyday that goes by it hurts more and more._

_For the first month or so Zayn was the sweetest person ever, always coming over and taking care of me when my mum couldn't. Always bringing me my homework and classwork when I didn't feel up for going to school, which was almost everyday for a while.. But then i kinda just... I don't know, I got tired of feeling pathetic and worthless. I got tired of him feeling like he was obligated to wait on my hand and foot just because he was my best friend. I told him to leave and to not come back, that I could take care of myself. And for a while, he refused to leave and told me that I_ needed  _someone to take care of me, but I kind of just blew up._

_Mum says that he still comes over every once in a while to check up on me but I still refuse to see him. I don't need anyone feeling sorry for me._

Harry continues reading every entry, feeling more and more sorry for Louis the further he gets into the book. Louis never really clearly states what happened, just expresses every single emotion he's feeling into writing, but from what Harry reads, he can tell that  _someone_ died. He just doesn't know who. He sits there for what is probably hours, reading.

**_August 4, 2011, 2:08 P.M_ **

_Today's her birthday. I went to the mall and bought her a necklace and some flowers. I might've spent a little over eight-hundred dollars, but its okay. She's worth it._

_I went and visited her today. I gave her the necklace. I know she would've loved it. I saw her eyeing it every time we passed by the jewelry store. I told her that one day when I saved up enough money that I would buy it for her. I just never thought it would be in front of a gravestone._

**_November 30, 2011, 8:49 A.M_ **

_My therapist prescribed me some medication. I feel like such a freak sometimes. I feel like I should be over this by now._

_There are times that I really think that stuffing a whole bottle of pills in my mouth is the best thing to do._

**_January 5, 2013, 4:25 P.M_ **

_I'm just over everything. I'm exhausted. I can't go through another day without her. I feel like there's a gaping hole in my chest and I can't breathe half the time. My life is empty without her. I just can't do this anymore..._

**_January 13, 2013, 7:21 P.M_ **

_I've been in the hospital for a couple of days now. Zayn found me in my bedroom, unconscious, apparently. I don't remember anything that happened. My mum said they had to pump my stomach. They said that if Z had found me even one minute later, I would've been dead. And, honestly, I really wish he would've. I_ don't  _want to be here anymore. Why can't anyone understand that?_

 

As he gets towards the end, the dates become more recent. Up to just a couple of months ago. 

**_October 9, 2015, 9:18 P.M_ **

_Today's one of those days. The boys invited me out for a drink but I just... I can't right now. It's coming up to almost six years since. I still think about it. I still cry myself to sleep sometimes. How can I not?_

_I know that nothing I do is ever going to bring her back. But I just can't help but think that if I try hard enough,_ something  _will. I miss her so much. There are still days that I refuse to go to work and class, and I shut myself in my room. Zayn, being the saint that he is, brings me my coursework on those days. God bless him. I'm grateful to have such amazing friends, but I can't help but think that-_

"What are you doing?" 

Harry jumps about ten feet in the air, spinning around when he hears a voice behind him. His eyes widen when he sees who it is. 

"I asked you a question." Louis says when Harry doesn't answer. 

"Nothing, I was- I was just-"

Louis' eyes harden when he looks down and sees what Harry's holding in his hands. He stomps over to Harry and snatches the journal out of his hands. "Did I tell you that you could go through my shit?" Louis fumes. 

"No, but-"

"No. No  _buts._ This is a fucking invasion of privacy!" Louis yells, shaking the journal in his hand. "I invite you into my home, I- I give you clothes and a place to sleep, and  _this_ is what you do to repay me?" 

"I'm sorry, I did not mean to make you angry." Harry apologizes. 

"Oh yeah? Well, look how well that worked out, because I'm pretty fucking angry." 

Harry opens his mouth to say something, but decides against it and looks down at his hands. 

"You're lucky my mum raised me right, because if it wasn't for her, you would've already been out the door.  _But,_ you're no longer welcome in my room. I can't trust you in here by yourself anymore."

Harry nods in understanding. "I'm sorry for going through your things."

"I can't forgive you, but thank you for apologizing."

Harry nods again and scoots past Louis out of the room, back into the living room. He sits on the couch awkwardly and stares at the wall, the only he's ever been used to. 

\--

It's the weekend, and Louis doesn't have work, so Harry attempts to do something to make up for what happened yesterday. He goes into the kitchen and looks through the refrigerator and the cupboards, not recognizing anything at all. He sees a box on top of the fridge that reads  _Froot Loops_ and looks in the refrigerator and sees a gallon of milk. He thinks he saw somewhere that these two items go together, so he grabs a bowl and pours them in, bringing it down the hall to Louis' bedroom. 

He hesitates, remembering what Louis said about Harry not being welcome in his room anymore. But, then he also stated that he couldn't trust Harry in there by  _himself._ If Louis' there too, it's okay, right? He opens the door and sees Louis laying in his bed with a device in his hands, shining light down on his face. Louis looks up and raises his eyebrows. 

Harry turns on the light and advances towards Louis' bed, handing him the bowl without a word. Louis takes it with furrowed eyebrows. "What's this?" 

"I thought you might be hungry." Harry shrugs. 

Louis eyes the bowl, "I need a spoon." 

Harry nods and makes his way back to the kitchen.  _A spoon?_ He opens all the drawers until he finds something that  _might_ be a spoon..? He doesn't know. He runs back to Louis' room and hands it to him. 

Louis bites his lip and closes his eyes. "This is a fork." He whispers, the corners of his lips tilting up. 

Harry opens his mouth to apologize, but Louis shakes his head. "It's okay. I'll try." 

Harry stands beside Louis' bed and watches him eat - well,  _try_ to eat. It seems he's having difficulty eating with the fork that Harry gave him. He finally gives up and places the now half full bowl on the bedside table. "What was that for?" Louis asks. 

"An apology. For going through your stuff without permission."

"Well, I appreciate the effort. I take it you're not much of a cook?" Louis assumes. Harry shakes his head. "Yeah, me neither."

"Is there, erm- what was all that about?" Harry asks, referring to the book. 

"I don't really feel comfortable talking about it." 

"It was over six years ago, shouldn't you-"

"That still doesn't change the fact that it still  _hurts,_ Harry." Louis snaps. "You just- you wouldn't understand."

"You do not know what I have been through." Harry states. 

Louis sighs, "I know. It's just not something that I'm ready to talk about. Especially with someone I barely even know. No offense." 

"It's okay. I do not mind." Harry waves him off. "I will just- leave you alone. I am sorry, again, about yesterday." He says, backing out of the room, leaving Louis to his thoughts. 

\--

Although he's still a bit upset with Harry, it's the weekend, and Louis isn't going to spend it cooped up in the house. He's spent way too much time in the past six years doing that. He got paid yesterday, and after paying rent and a couple of other bills, Louis still has some money leftover to go out and spend on himself. Everyone at work has been talking about the new movie  _Kingsman,_ and according to reviews online, it's a pretty good movie. Louis decides that he and Harry are going to go to the movies today. 

Louis kicks off his blankets and hops out of bed, ready to take on the day. He makes his way down the hallway to wake Harry up, only to see that Harry is lying fully awake on the couch. 

"Someone's an early riser." Louis muses, startling Harry. 

"Yeah, something like that," Harry says, sitting up. 

"I think that might be good for me, though. I always tend to sleep the day away on my days off. With you here, it might actually give me some initiative to go out and do something." Louis says, not realizing that he just implied that Harry's stay here can possibly be more than just temporary.

"Does that mean we are going to do something today?" Harry asks, his tone hopeful. 

"That, it does, Harold." 

"Does that mean you forgive me?" Harry asks, this time more hesitantly. 

"Erm, no. It doesn't. But, that doesn't mean that I'm not working on it.  _And,_ that doesn't mean that we still can't go out and do something. I've kind of gotten over the whole  _being angry_ part - I don't really hold grudges that long. I just- I don't know if I can trust you, or not, yet." 

"Okay," Harry nods. "I understand." 

"So," Louis says, clapping his hands together. "How do you feel about going to see a movie?"

"A movie?" Harry says, confused. 

"Yeah," Louis shrugs. "I thought it'd be nice to get out of the house. And, I know it's probably pretty boring here for you, with me not having a TV."

Confusion is clearly written all over Harry's face but he agrees anyways. The two boys wander down the hallway, Louis telling Harry to get ready and handing him some clothes to wear. Louis goes to his room and throws on some clothes, looking longingly at his sweatpants, knowing that he can't wear them out in public - he doesn't think that people would appreciate him walking around with a hole in his crotch. He pulls a beanie over his head, not feeling like styling his hair today, and goes to make him and Harry some breakfast. 

Just as he's plating their food, footsteps are sounding behind him. He turns around and takes in Harry's appearance and then notices that his hair isn't wet.

"Did you take a shower?" Louis asks. 

"Huh? Oh, yes. I did." Harry nods. 

"That's weird, your hair isn't wet." Louis chuckles lightly. 

Harry's eyes widen and he brings a hand up to his hair. "Oh, yeah. I did not- wash my hair."

Louis just raises his eyebrows and nods. He brings the plates to the kitchen table and motions for Harry to sit down. Harry looks down at his plate of food and hesitates, "I am not hungry." He says, and pushes it away. 

Louis looks at him in disbelief, "you've not eaten a bite of food since you've been here." He holds up a finger when Harry goes to speak, "and don't try to say that you eat when I'm not around, because I haven't seen anything missing from my pantry." Louis has a habit of keeping inventory on his kitchen, since his best friend - A.K.A a bottomless pit who never gains weight no matter what - likes to steal his food when he thinks Louis isn't looking. 

Harry looks down at his hands and fiddles with his thumbs. 

"Harry," Louis says softly. "If there's something wrong, don't feel like you can't talk to me. Now, I know that you might feel like you can't because I got upset with you last night. But, that doesn't mean that I don't want you hurting yourself." 

"I am not," Harry murmurs. 

"Well, can you eat, please?"

"I cannot." Harry sighs. "I am sorry."

"Okay," Louis says in defeat, not wanting to push Harry. But, when he looks Harry up and down, he notices that he looks pretty healthy, so maybe he shouldn't be worrying so much. That doesn't mean that he's not going to keep an eye on Harry, though. 

Louis finishes his food and puts both of their plates in the sink after throwing Harry's uneaten food away. "You ready to go?"

Harry nods and follows Louis to the front door. Louis hands Harry a pair of black vans, which Harry complains about being too small, so he makes a mental note to go and buy Harry some shoes. Some clothes, as well. He's running out of too big clothes for Harry to wear. He's just happy that he had them in the first place - maybe having distant family that doesn't really acknowledge how short you are is a good thing. When they're driving to the theater, Louis doesn't miss the way that Harry is tense the whole car ride, white knuckling the door handle. Someone obviously has motion sickness. He practically jumps out of the car as soon as it's parked in the parking lot, and Louis is about to ask him what's wrong, but gets distracted by the way that Harry is looking at his surroundings in awe.

Harry walks absentmindedly towards the building, Louis following right behind him.

Louis pays for their tickets, passing right by the concession stand without a second glance. They're a bit early, Louis notices when he sees that there are only a couple of people in the theater, and the screen is still black. It's okay though, Louis likes watching the previews. Him and Harry find a seat towards the middle, and the two make conversation to pass the time until the movie starts. Just as Louis is about to ask Harry what his favorite movie is, the room goes black and is illuminated by the movie screen seconds later. 

Harry suddenly groans in pain and Louis looks over to see him with his head between his knees and his hands covering his ears. 

"Are you okay?" Louis asks, and that's a stupid question because  _obviously he's not okay._

Harry stands up and runs out of the theater, leaving Louis in utter confusion.

_What the hell was that about?_ Louis wonders. He eventually runs after Harry and into the bathroom. He finds Harry hunched over the sink with his eyes squeezed shut. Louis almost considers going out into the main lobby and getting some help, because he really doesn't know what to do right now. Harry is obviously in pain - why? Louis has no idea. When the bottom of Louis' shoe squeaks against the tile floor, Harry's whole body tenses up and he turns around slowly. He visibly relaxes when he sees who it is and turns back to the mirror and makes a face and runs a hand over it.

"Are you okay?" Louis asks warily. 

"I don't- I think so?" Harry says it as more of question than a statement. It's not very reassuring to Louis.

"What happened back there?" Louis jerks a thumb towards the door. 

"I am not sure." Harry shakes his head, "it has happened once before, I believe. I do not really know what is causing it."

"Alright, well... I'm assuming that was some sort of reaction to the LCD lights in the movie screen or something, so maybe we should leave." Louis suggests. 

"Yes, I think that would be best." 

They both walk out of the building, Louis pulling out his phone on their way to the car.

The line picks up on the third ring. 

" _'Lo?_ " 

"Hey, Z." Louis says awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. "Look, about the other day, I wanna-"

" _Don't worry about it, mate. I admit, I kind of overreacted. You were just- trying to do the right thing."_

Louis sighs in relief, grateful that Zayn doesn't expect him to apologize, "do you mind meeting me at the library down the street?" Louis asks, leaning against his car door.

" _What for?_ " 

"I, um-" Louis looks over to the other side of the car where Harry is standing, looking around curiously, "just need to do some research on something."

" _Alright, I'll be there in ten minutes, tops._ " Zayn informs Louis. 

"I'll see you then." Louis hangs up the phone, hitting the top of the car with his hand to get Harry's attention. He unlocks the car and slides in, Harry following his movements, and drives off to the library to meet Zayn. 

\--

"I don't even know what the hell I'm looking for." Louis throws his hands up in frustration, pushing Zayn's laptop away.

They've been sitting at this table for almost an hour, looking up everything from:  _reactions to LCD lights_ to fucking  _brain aneurysms_ because, like Louis said, he  _doesn't know what the hell he's looking for._ They always say that Google has the answers to everything. Yeah? Well, Louis begs to differ. He can't find anything even remotely close to what Harry experienced, and really, he's just about ready to give up.  _  
_

Zayn suggests that maybe Harry made it all up, because there's no way that you can look something up on the internet and not be able to find it. Or at least something close to it. But, Louis insists that Harry is telling the truth - says that Harry said it's happened once before, and why would he lie about  _that?_

Harry wandered off as soon as they walked in, fascinated by all of the books surrounding them. It's almost as if he'd never been in a library before. Which, okay, is possible. But, he had to have seen one at school, before, right? For a study period or a class project, if not just for entertainment purposes. But, then again, Louis has come to the conclusion in just the last three days that Harry isn't your ordinary nineteen year old boy.

It's in the way he talks, the way he acts, the way he just- he refuses to  _eat._ That's the part that Louis understands the least. Maybe he was neglected as a child, and the only thing he knows is discipline, so that's why he's  _scared_ to ask for and accept anything to eat from Louis. Maybe his parents were total monsters to him - that could be the reason for Harry running away from home and showing up at Louis' doorstep trembling and scared. 

Louis almost feels bad for Harry, the way he almost seems completely new to the world and how it works. For God's sake, the kid didn't even know what a  _spoon_ was. That makes Louis think back to how angry he got at Harry for reading his journal. Yeah, it was wrong of him to go through Louis' things without permission, but maybe Louis could have at least gone a little easy on him. As far as Louis knows, the kid barely knows right from wrong, so in his mind he probably thought it was an okay thing to do - even though Harry said he understood, something in Louis' mind is telling him that he really didn't. 

Louis voices his thoughts to Zayn, and he tells Louis that he should probably stop being a dick to everyone all the time and apologize every once in a while. 

Louis pushes his chair away from the table, taking Zayn's advice and goes on a hunt for a curly headed boy. He walks up and down the aisles for a good five minutes and is just about to give up and go sit back down with Zayn when he sees a lanky figure curled up in front of a bookcase. 

"Whatcha got there?" He asks curiously, eyeing the book in Harry's hands. 

Harry turns the front of the book towards Louis, letting him read it.

" _Twilight._ " Louis chuckles. "I'll spare you your time and money and just tell you now that Bella  _does_ get turned into a vampire, and that the movies aren't as good as the books. But, then again, the books aren't that good, either." 

Harry laughs and takes Louis' word for it and puts the book back on the shelf behind him. 

Louis takes a seat next to Harry on the floor, leaving a good amount of space between them. "I want to apologize about the other night." Louis says awkwardly. He's never been good at apologies. He usually waits for the other person to start feeling bad and take the blame - his mum tells him it's always been one of his worst traits. 

Harry just stares at him with a blank expression, which doesn't help with Louis' situation  _at all._

Louis sighs, "I shouldn't have gone off on you like that. It wasn't right. You didn't know that it was off-limits. That was my bad for not telling you beforehand." 

Harry nods and tilts his head, almost resembling a tiny puppy. An adorable puppy, if Louis does say so himself. "Are you going to tell me what it was about, now?" 

Louis bites his lip and averts his gaze. "No." 

"Do you not trust me?" 

"It's not-" Louis huffs out a laugh, "it's not that. I know, I  _know_ it's been over six years. But, I- I can't. It's too much."

"Does your friend know?" Harry asks, and if Louis isn't mistaken, he swears he hears a hint of jealousy in Harry's voice. 

"Zayn? Zayn was the second person to know, behind my mum. He would've been the first, but my mum was kind of involved in what happened. She had no choice but to know." Louis explains.

What happened affected his mum just as much as it affected him, if not worse. But, even though his mum was grieving, she still made time for Louis' needs and tended to him when he fell into a really deep depression. He'll never be able to thank his mum enough for getting him through that. When he looks over at Harry, he's no longer looking at him. 

"I've known Zayn for almost twenty years, I would take a bullet for that guy. Harry, I've known you for, what, three days?" 

Harry still doesn't look at him. 

"How about I make you a deal," Louis sighs. "I  _will_ tell you what happened." Harry perks up. "But, when  _I_ am ready." Harry sulks again, but nods anyways. 

\--

After bidding their goodbye's to Zayn, Harry and Louis make their way to the mall to buy Harry some clothes. Harry had mentioned to him again about how the shoes he's wearing are squeezing his toes, and it's very uncomfortable, so Louis drives straight to the mall after leaving the library.

Upon entering the mall, Harry seems a little stressed with all of the people walking around and the loud thrum of voices from over a thousand people talking at once, so Louis keeps a light hand on the small of his back in hopes of calming him down a little. As usual, when Louis takes Harry somewhere, he takes in his surroundings with an expression of complete wonder. He enthusiastically drags Louis into every single store, even though Louis tells him that all of them basically have the same things in them, Harry still insists.

He points at everything he sees and asks a million and one questions about them.  _What is it? What does it do? What is it used for? Have you ever used one?_ And, even though Louis is both confused and curious as to why Harry has no idea what these simple everyday things are, he still answers the questions to the best of his ability. As long as it keeps the bright smile on Harry's face, then Louis is willing to answer any questions that he has, no matter how strange. 

When Harry eventually gets over his excitement and fascination of the place, he lets Louis take him into Foot Locker to pick out some shoes. Harry voices that he doesn't really know what he's looking for, he doesn't really know what looks good or what is  _trendy,_ so Louis helps him. They finally settle on a pair of white All Stars, something simple but something that matches with everything. Next, they go into JCPenney's and buy Harry a couple pairs of solid black jeans, a couple of t-shirts, and some patterned button up shirts that Harry actually picks out himself, instead of relying on Louis to.

Louis chuckles at the way that Harry's face lights up and he runs over to the rack that they're hanging on. He takes one off and shows it to Louis with a hopeful expression.

"Don't look at me," Louis laughs, "it's your choice. You're the one who has to wear it."

Harry grins and faces the rack again, excitedly picking out four more. Louis looks at the price tag and takes in a sharp breath when he sees that the price tag reads  _47.85._ But then he just brushes it off. He's willing to spend any amount of money, big or small, as long as it makes Harry happy. 

Satisfied with their choices, they leave the mall and drive back home. Louis goes straight to the kitchen to make himself a late lunch. He tries again to convince Harry to eat something, but he still refuses. Louis looks at him with concern in his eyes - concern for Harry's health - but Harry just waves him off and assures him that,  _really,_ he doesn't need to eat anything. 

The two boys part ways at the end of the night, Harry going to the couch and Louis going to his bed. Louis just lies in his bed for a good hour, just thinking about the boy in his living room who abruptly came into his life. The  _strange_ boy. Strange, but intriguing. And Louis is determined to pick him apart and figure out what exactly is going on in that brain of his. 

\--

 


End file.
